FUCK YEAH, SCIENCE

[Halo]

This article just reminded me why I chose to study physics. Fuck yeah, science is awesome. This thread is basically just to celebrate the infinite coolness of sciencey shit.

Have you guys heard of any scientific developments that blew your mind, recently? Have you ever felt like that? What caused it - or if you haven't ever felt that, do scientific topics/developments seem dull or pointless to you? Do you try to keep up with scientific discoveries?

 

[Minibit]

I wish it went more into detail on the satellite feeling the earthquake - most of that bit was on how awesome GOCE was. I wanna know how it felt something I didn't when I was standing on the planet it happened on :/

 

[☆Luna☆]

This is completely obligatory.

 

[Dervish]

One thing that got me really excited was reading about how scientists predict in 20-30 years we will encounter alien life. Now, this doesn't mean civilization, and probably is more like microbes or small wildlife on other planets, but still, that is huge.

 

[Infinatis]

I found it awesome when arcaeologists discovered Noah's Ark. Im a christian but I believe in evoloution and shit like that.

 

[Dervish]

I found it awesome when arcaeologists discovered Noah's Ark. Im a christian but I believe in evoloution and shit like that.

Source? I've heard people claim they've discovered that thing like a dozen different times.

 

[Minibit]

I found it awesome when arcaeologists discovered Noah's Ark. Im a christian but I believe in evoloution and shit like that.

Source? I've heard people claim they've discovered that thing like a dozen different times.

I'm just going to suggest right now that this discussion move to a debate thread or private messages because there are VERY few ways this discussion can happen without straying into 'prove the bible' territory

 

[Peter Feels]

Read something about head transplants once. Thought that was pretty neat.

 

[Dervish]

I'm just going to suggest right now that this discussion move to a debate thread or private messages because there are VERY few ways this discussion can happen without straying into 'prove the bible' territory

Absolutely won't on my end. I'm legitimately curious as to where he read that from. I don't like to rag on people's faiths.

Like I said, I've read quite a few times that people think they found the Ark before (somehow up in the Himalayas or something like that in one hilarious instance), but finding something that theologically important would have been huge news, it would be like if somebody discovered the cross Jesus was crucified on or the chalice he drank out of at the Last Supper, y'know what I mean?

 

[Minibit]

Absolutely won't on my end. I'm legitimately curious as to where he read that from. I don't like to rag on people's faiths.

Like I said, I've read quite a few times that people think they found the Ark before (somehow up in the Himalayas or something like that in one hilarious instance), but finding something that theologically important would have been huge news, it would be like if somebody discovered the cross Jesus was crucified on or the chalice he drank out of at the Last Supper, y'know what I mean?

I don't really care whose end its on. Asking for proof of religious claims (eg: that Noah's ark was found and therefore that whole story happened) is a hot button topic, and should be discussed in a properly labelled thread or in private to prevent drama.

 

[Halo]

I don't really care whose end its on. Asking for proof of religious claims (eg: that Noah's ark was found and therefore that whole story happened) is a hot button topic, and should be discussed in a properly labelled thread or in private to prevent drama.

Not to question how things are done here, but doesn't it seem reasonable to at least allow people the chance to discuss things civilly before laying down the law? You don't arrest people for a crime they haven't committed yet, so to speak. I'll be the first to request intervention should it spiral into chaos, but pre-emptive measures just preclude any possibility for increased understanding between opposing worldviews. It only helps maintain the status quo of misunderstanding and intolerance.

This thread was made to discuss interest in scientific discovery and advancement, in all its facets and in all the ways people connect with the topic. The discussion is therefore relevant and on-topic - it's not bullshit hijacking by people with personal agendas. And, near as I can tell, no rules have been broken. Take any action you wish, but y'know - give people a chance. It's not even an non-provable (and therefore cyclical to discuss) "religious claim" in this case - the claim was that archaeologists have found Noah's Ark, which is either factually true or not true from a scientific perspective, which is what this thread is about.

 

[Minibit]

Not to question how things are done here, but doesn't it seem reasonable to at least allow people the chance to discuss things civilly before laying down the law? You don't arrest people for a crime they haven't committed yet, so to speak. I'll be the first to request intervention should it spiral into chaos, but pre-emptive measures just preclude any possibility for increased understanding between opposing worldviews. It only helps maintain the status quo of misunderstanding and intolerance.

This thread was made to discuss interest in scientific discovery and advancement, in all its facets and in all the ways people connect with the topic. The discussion is therefore relevant and on-topic - it's not bullshit hijacking by people with personal agendas. And, near as I can tell, no rules have been broken. Take any action you wish, but y'know - give people a chance. It's not even an non-provable (and therefore cyclical to discuss) "religious claim" in this case - the claim was that archaeologists have found Noah's Ark, which is either factually true or not true from a scientific perspective, which is what this thread is about.

Your thread; I'll back off.

In every instance I've seen this topic discussed in the past it has spiralled into drama; I prefer to stop drama before it happens, and not wait until feelings are injured and people are angry. I'm not saying that people can't discuss it, or even that it can't be discussed civilly, just that 9.9/10 times these discussions spoil into chaos, and therefore I'd rather they take place in a thread marked 'debate' or in private.

I suppose I did come across rather harsh, you all have my apologies for that. I just dislike drama and arguments and anger building up, and it's really really difficult for that not to happen when we get to topics like "prove that they actually found Noah's actual ark" :(


But yes, back on topic

So long as we're raving about how cool science is, I want to comment that I'm always vastly more impressed by the huge array of things we still don't understand completely; like the far reaches of space, the very bottom of the ocean, the human brain. It's incredibly humbling.

 

[Sairen]

Article 1: This was back in the early part of March, but bio-engineers are trying to put human heart cells on a chip.

I found that from one of my favorite Youtube channels that deal with science, new technology and even weird science n_n

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

Honestly the idea of Evolution as a whole just gives me a "Wow" reaction.

But if we're looking for more specific instances one notable one was when Cosmos suggested that Black Holes functioned very similliar to the TARDIS's "Bigger on the inside" concept.

 

[Infinatis]

I forget where I saw the article but it was found in Mt Arararat (something like that), the same one in the story. I was just saying it was cool, I didnt mean to cause controversy :(

 

[Dervish]

I forget where I saw the article but it was found in Mt Arararat (something like that), the same one in the story. I was just saying it was cool, I didnt mean to cause controversy :(

Not at all! Sorry if it was interpreted that way. At least I have somewhere to start Googling. :)

 

[Halo]

I wish it went more into detail on the satellite feeling the earthquake - most of that bit was on how awesome GOCE was. I wanna know how it felt something I didn't when I was standing on the planet it happened on :/

It says that its accelerometers felt the "acoustic wave". This isn't based on any research I've done, but I suspect we didn't feel it for the same reason we don't feel every earthquake worldwide - the energy disperses as the vibrations travel through the Earth's crust, meaning the effects are only felt in a certain area. The vibrations may travel further and faster through air than tectonic plates, though, as air is significantly less dense and so on - meaning the shockwave (so to speak) reached that high, as it hadn't dispersed yet. But also, it was only 270km up - that's not very far, compared to how far we are from the site of the earthquake. And on top of that, well, the vibrations were probably really weak at that point - it's only because the accelerometers and such were so sensitive that we know it "felt" the vibration. The tectonic plates beneath us would have shaken as well, but just such a minuscule amount that we didn't feel it ourselves.

Your thread; I'll back off.
-snip-

I didn't mean to come across as being defensive of "my" thread or whatever, I was talking quite generally. ^^ As I said, you're the staff member, it's your job to take action as you see fit - and you're right, that stuff usually turns into a clusterfuck. I was just offering an alternative opinion, mostly because I totally have a stick up my ass about Minority Report-esque pre-emptive/preventative action - because, like, FREEDOM, MAN.

Honestly the idea of Evolution as a whole just gives me a "Wow" reaction.

But if we're looking for more specific instances one notable one was when Cosmos suggested that Black Holes functioned very similliar to the TARDIS's "Bigger on the inside" concept.

woah woah woah, whaaa-? Link me to the article or whatever, that sounds fascinating.

I forget where I saw the article but it was found in Mt Arararat (something like that), the same one in the story. I was just saying it was cool, I didnt mean to cause controversy :(

You haven't dude, don't worry ^^. Having taken a brief look into it, there's no scientific evidence for Noah's Ark's presence there - although there have been many claims that people have found it over the years, it's all come out to be unsubstantiated at best and a complete hoax at worst. That doesn't mean it isn't there, mind - just that it hasn't been found, and certainly hasn't been scientifically verified as the Noah's Ark of lore. Who knows, though, maybe someday the claims of people seeing it will be proven to be true.

 

[Infinatis]

It was on the news at one point. They saw giant wooden beams inside the mountain where it supposedly landed. Its in Turkey actually. Anyways I also saw an article saying that scientists found something that slows down cancer. I was like. FUCK YEAH.

 

[Windsong]

I see neat stuff all the time while skimming my Facebook feed.

Sadly it's now devolved into "science is awesome again cause geeks are cool!" That I see in the comments. Or people arguing about stupid ethics, big pharma, government lies, etc.

The head transplant thing was pretty cool as a most recent thing.

 

[Holmishire]

It says that its accelerometers felt the "acoustic wave". This isn't based on any research I've done, but I suspect we didn't feel it for the same reason we don't feel every earthquake worldwide - the energy disperses as the vibrations travel through the Earth's crust, meaning the effects are only felt in a certain area. The vibrations may travel further and faster through air than tectonic plates, though, as air is significantly less dense and so on - meaning the shockwave (so to speak) reached that high, as it hadn't dispersed yet. But also, it was only 270km up - that's not very far, compared to how far we are from the site of the earthquake. And on top of that, well, the vibrations were probably really weak at that point - it's only because the accelerometers and such were so sensitive that we know it "felt" the vibration. The tectonic plates beneath us would have shaken as well, but just such a minuscule amount that we didn't feel it ourselves.

Actually—like you, this being said without research—the movement was far more significant. It wasn't just the accelorometers that detected slight shifts.

If you look at fig. 3, you'll see that the speed of the wave created by the earthquake was amplified the further up it went, I'm guessing by the general swinging-a-long-pole type logic. At ground level, this air current moved at 350m/s, or 1260km/h. At the level of the satellite, the current was already moving at 1100m/s, or 3960km/h.

At that point, as seen on the diagram, the satellite's trajectory was directly interfered with. The air density was significantly affected, and its variance lead the satellite to jostle up and down—much like an airliner, but I imagine more violently? The diagram says it shifted by 20% in either direction, but I'm not sure if that mean the density or the height—though the latter seems very unlikely, because what air current is going to make a satellite jump 50km up and down repeated in less than an ten minutes?

Basically, my point is just that the vibrations were, actually, very strong at that point. Carry on. ;)